Bangkok Noir Author Tim Hallinan Capsule Review of "Bangkok, Heart of Noir"................

The poet John Gartland lives in Bangkok, possibly the brightest and hottest of all noir cities, and he knows a broad spectrum of the people who live there.  These poems capture and present the Bangkok I know (and don't always love) in perfect miniatures, painted with a very fine brush.  Terrific work.

Not to be overlooked are the amazing paintings by Chris Coles, whose neon-influenced brush brings the subjects of Gartland's poems to glowing, somewhat uneasy life.  This is a perfect match of talents.  Coles, like Gartland, has been shaped by one of the world's greatest and most bizarre cities, and both of them have used their talent to respond to, annd document, this unique urban environment.